sanctuary..........are you still there , or have you floated away overnight? I hope NOT. When we passed over the Swattie on the turnpike yesterday around 9:00 a.m. it looked pretty wild. There was talk that the upper stretches of the Swatara Creek was going to be designated Approved Trout Water , after checkin out the "summery" looks like this didn't happen. The stoneflies should proliferate in this environment though. I spotted my first one of the year near Shaffer run in Somerset county on 3-9-10 about 1:00 p.m. trout love 'em , i always wondered why , when they are in such abundance , the fish in the larger rivers and streams , don't bother with them? While you were at Swatara Creek did you see anything feeding on them? Besides seagulls?

The Swatara (like any stream) could have holdover trout if the conditions are right. That would include many factors such as food supply, oxygen content, habitat, etc. But one of the largest factors would be temperature. If the water gets too warm and the trout can't find cooler water, they'll expire. If there are tribs that offer refuge, then they could hold over.

If we have a spring/summer like we did last year, it's quite possible there could be holdovers in many places that don't see holdovers. We didn't get extended periods of hot weather and had more than ample rain which helped the situation.

It is true that often times wild and stocked trout in PA travel a great deal and will seek larger waters and their more diverse forage base if the conditions permit. This leads to trout in fall and winter moving downstream from first order streams to second order streams even if they are WWF (warm water fisheries).

Without naming names, you can pretty much find nearly any large warm water stream and if it has stocked trout tributaries, expect to find trout there near the mouths at least in the early season before the waters warm beyond the trouts comfort level of 70 degrees or so.

Posted on: 2010/3/14 15:39

_________________Don't hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning. Think the bridge will be there and it will be there. It's a mother, beautiful bridge, and it's gonna be there. Ok?

When i lived in Liverpool on the Susquehannah i caught a brown trout out of the main river , once , in 10 years , there are stocked trout stream tribs all up and down the river , note it was early spring like now and there had been high water. It was not more than 12" long but looked healthy and fought well and i let it go.

When I lived in NE PA, if fished near the mouth of Bowmans Creek both in the creek and on the Susky for trout. The stocked fish end up there, especially if there is or was high water after the stocking.